Does J&J's Baby Powder Cause Cancer? A Jury Just Said Yes With an Enormous $4.69 Billion Penalty

By DAVID MEYER 5:30 AM EDT
July 13, 2018

Johnson & Johnson has been hit with its biggest penalty yet over the allegation that its talcum powders cause cancer.

A Missouri jury decided Thursday that the pharma and consumer goods giant should pay a whopping $4.69 billion—$550 million in compensatory damages and $4.14 billion in punitive damages—to 22 women who say J&J’s talc-based products gave them ovarian cancer.

The claims rest on the fact that talc, a clay mineral, is often found in deposits alongside asbestos ore, which definitely is a cancer risk.

J&J says there is no asbestos in its baby powder and other talc-based products, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) conducted a survey in 2009 and 2010 that seemed to back this up. However, the prosecution in this case argued that J&J and the FDA’s tests were flawed.

The company faces around 9,000 of these cases. The previous highest damages ruling was for $417 million, in August last year. However, this and a $72 million award in a separate case were both overturned on the basis of insufficient evidence and alleged jury misconduct in setting high damages.

J&J says it will appeal the latest verdict, which it argues is “the product of a fundamentally unfair process.”